Apartment or House?

Question

I am moving. I have three options. An apartment, A travel trailer, or A house.

An expensive high lined apartment with all the bells and whistles.
A travel trailer fairly new (the kind you go on the road with, option to buy it within a year and own a vacation home !).
A house as a rental, kinda old style, simple, not very snazzy.

Which would you choose and why?

I'm actually torn right now, the apartment is fun, the house is economical (maybe?), the travel trailer I would OWN.
The apartment is possible to lease longer but has no value after a year of payments, the house a possiblity to buy (long commitment.) therefore gaining with the payments but slowly, and travel trailer would be small and cramped but owned and capable of being used for ten more years as a vacation on wheels!

let me clarify, I will rent for the next fifteen years, hubby is Milatary (we have retirement in fifteen years) and I'm not throwing money away, we move every three years, thats alot of work to own a house, can cause huge issues. Taxes, up keep, on a small paycheck. The year of renting happens regardless, the travel trailer would be owned after one year. The house perhaps 1/10 th owned, and the apartment nothing but it offers the nicest amenities and is the most affordable. So, pros and cons besides loss of money (obvious...;} thanks)

Answer 1

Before you listen to all the HOUSE HOUSE HOUSE people, consider that owning is also a liability. Meaning if something breaks you get to fix it. Think increments of thousands. If your budget doesnt allow you to handle that, the house isnt the best way to go. Appreciation isnt guranteed anymore, and its a rough market to sell. I've seen transferees have to leave their houses empty on the market around here for nearly a year, and they surely had ot pay to live somewhere else. It is worth checking to see what provisions the military will provide to support transfers. Also how much stuff do you have, how much stuff do you want to haul around with you?
I think I'd choose the apartment if the region had nasty storms, and maybe the travel trailer if i had a nice place to put it and could customize the crap out of it. (again, budget permitting).
If the house was solid, in a nice enough neighborhood and the market was doing ok, then I'd consider the house.
But overall, Id lean towards the apartment. Some else can come fix the toilet. And you get closet space.
Good luck!!

Answer 2

I would go with the house if it is possible that you could buy it.
Apartments may be fun but they are a waste of money. The travel trailer would be yours and a lot of fun, but it will depreciate in value as soon as it leaves the sellers lot. A house if purchased and not rented is an investment. Houses, especially if well kept, always appreciate in value. If you can purchase this house then 10 years down the rode you will be coming out on top instead of wondering where 10 years of rent went or shoveling out money for repairs to your travel trailer.

EDIT: I think I understand, You have no choice but to rent for the next 15 years and If you have to move every three years then it is probably best that you do not try to own a house because you need to be in it for a least 5 years before you can see a return on your investment. Apartments are cozy and with a travel trailer you would own it and you could just drive it to the next location when you have to move. Also, some trailer parks are pretty nice. Therefore, I would choose the travel trailer for the freedom and convienence of it.

Good Luck

Answer 3

it is obviously much better to own, or rent to own, than rent. so forget the apartment. While the house may be a big commitment, it might be the best choice.
watch out for the travel trailer. i have been vacationing in a travel trailer for the last 8 years. the trailer I purchased was 20 years old already, and we basically used the heck out of it for 6 years. many of the systems either did not work or worked intermittently. the trailer did not move, it was permanently stationed in a nice trailer park near the beach. it was extremely economical for us to be able to enjoy the beach every weekend this way (real estate at this beach is ASTRONOMICAL). however travel trailers are not usually built that great. because they are designed to travel, they are built from extremely light (and therefore not very sturdy) materials, like 1x2 studs and beams, rather than 2x4 or 2x6 in a house. also, travel trailers have very thin insulation and have only aluminum exterior. it could get very cold in there, and if the heating system is what I think it is you will burn through a lot of propane (our park closes in the winter so I can't tell you for sure, but that's what I've heard from other campers) there are also pipe and hose freezing issues (we have to winterize our trailer when we leave, filling all the hoses and pipes with non-poisonous antifreeze). finally, there is the delicate issue of sewage - while you are living there, will the trailer be hooked up to a sewer, or will the waste be pumped out - if pumped out, is it unlimited, is there a schedule (if you are creating more waste than the schedule allows, you will have a big problem), is there a fee for each pump?
and travel trailers are just like cars - they IMMEDIATELY depreciate, they almost never appreciate (unless they are permanently stationed on a desirable location like a few of the trailers in our park are).
however, we loved vacationing in our trailer so much we recently upgraded to a very expensive park model. it is definitely an expense, not an investment - yet because we use it so very much, every single weekend, and because the alternative is so very expensive, it is a nice cheap way for us to unwind in a place we love. so if the trailer is a place you could live for a while, and you really think you will use the heck out of it afterward, then it might be the best choice for you. you could realistically guess how many vacations you think you will use it for (1 per year, 2 per year) then multiply that number by the number of years left on the trailer (they usually die after 20 years). then divide into the cost of the trailer. Compare the cost of each trailer vacation to similar vacation you would normally take each year.
just a little information in case you are not familiar with trailering!

Answer 4

what ever you decide never rent unless you have no other options, rent money only lines the other guy's pocket, all you get is a roof over your head, in a few years renting you have paid for the rent house and still have nothing to show for your money spent.
good luck

Answer 5

house...renting is a waste of your money.........what you pay to your landlord for rent you could be paying on your own home.

Answer 6

house...renting is a waste of money!